2023 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix | 8 talking points

No pressure for Verstappen

Charles Leclerc gave it his best shot from second on the grid, but starting from pole position Verstappen kept the lead on the short run into Turn One and withstood the Ferrari driver’s press on the opening lap. Leclerc got alongside, but that was as close as he got. As we’ve said on multiple occasions this year, Verstappen was in a class apart as he swept around the Yas Marina circuit and closed out the final race with a winning margin of 17.993 seconds.

This was the 54^th victory of the 26-year-old’s career, moving him clear of Sebastian Vettel into third in the roll-call of most F1 wins. Only Michael Schumacher (91) and Lewis Hamilton (103) sit ahead of him. Whether he can threaten either of those counts is probably only down to a question of how long the three-time champion wishes to race on. Records don’t seem to be his priority. For now, he’ll settle for the immense satisfaction of completing one of the finest season campaigns F1 followers have ever witnessed.

Late Leclerc ploy fails to thwart Mercedes

It was an astute move from Leclerc on the final lap to allow Perez past him, in a bid to drop George Russell off the podium and shake up the battle for second in the constructors’ championship. But the ploy didn’t quite work out as Mercedes finished the season just three points clear of the red cars in a $10 million battle to be best of the rest.

Sergio Pérez had picked up a five-second penalty for barging into Lando Norris during a move into Turn Six, which had neutered his threat to claim a Red Bull one-two. But clever Leclerc reasoned that if he allowed Pérez past him on the road the Mexican might open up enough of a gap to at least knock Russell out of third. As it turned out, the Mercedes finished within five seconds of ‘Checo’ to keep the Mexican off the podium. Perez duly finished second on the road, then dropped to fourth in the results. As Russell acknowledged afterwards, respect to always classy Leclerc that his gamesmanship hadn’t resorted to backing up Russell and influencing the result unfairly on the run to the chequered flag

Perez climbs after poor qualifying

Yet again Perez left himself with too much to do on race day after qualifying poorly in by far the best car on the grid. But starting from ninth, he at least pulled on-track passes on Pierre Gasly, Fernando Alonso and Oscar Piastri to rise up the order. A long middle stint gave him a tyre-life advantage to those ahead of him for the final part of the race and, armed with the fabulous Honda-powered RB19, he looked capable of rising to second place. But the clumsy move on Norris when he understeered into the McLaren earned him those extra five seconds. Was it marginal? He certainly thought so. But Norris had given him room and Perez was clearly struggling to keep his car fully under control on the brakes. Still, ninth to third represented a decent return – even if it was the least his team had a right to expect.

Russell takes pride in performance

He’s called it his worst season ever. George Russell’s reputation as a taken a knock or two this year in what was another tough campaign for once-dominant Mercedes. Which is why the 25-year-old had every right to take pleasure in a performance that delivered that valuable second in the constructors’ standings, and only his second podium of 2023.

Russell qualified a fine fourth, then faced a dual McLaren threat in the race. Oscar Piastri lined up an excellent third and held the position early on as Russell lost a place to Norris. The old friends both worked their way past the Australian rookie, then engaged in an entertaining duel before Russell was able to assert himself. The Mercedes didn’t quite have the pace to threaten Leclerc’s Ferrari, so it’s fair to say Russell optimised what he had under him and brought home the points just when Mercedes needed them the most.

Hamilton out of sorts

In contrast, Lewis Hamilton – who has comprehensively outscored Russell over the course of the season – never looked happy in Abu Dhabi. He failed to progress beyond Q2 on Saturday, then struggled to impose himself on the race. Running into the back of Pierre Gasly’s locked-up Alpine didn’t help and caused some damage to his front wing, then later he was ruffled by a blatant brake test from old nemesis Alonso (the Aston Martin driver avoiding censure).

At the close Hamilton faced Yuki Tsunoda in a fight for eighth. The Mercedes actually got by into the long Turn Nine, but a big twitch mid-corner allowed the AlphaTauri back past, leaving Hamilton to settle for an unimpressive ninth. He’d at least contributed to keeping Mercedes just out of reach of Ferrari, but he won’t be sorry to wave goodbye to his difficult W14.

Leclerc and Alonso tied on points

Honours for fourth in the drivers’ standings behind Verstappen, Pérez and Hamilton had been close coming into Abu Dhabi – and they remained so at the end of the grand prix. Norris led Piastri to a McLaren five-six, with Fernando Alonso finishing where he started in seventh. But Leclerc’s second place vaulted him past both team-mate Carlos Sainz and Norris to finish tied on points with Alonso. Not that he cared. Delivering Ferrari second in the constructors’ standings had been his sole target and through no fault of his own that hadn’t worked out. He couldn’t hide his disappointment in the aftermath.

Horrible race for Sainz

Ferrari’s cause wasn’t aided by a terrible weekend for Carlos Sainz Jr – the only non-Red Bull driver to win a race this year. The Spaniard suffered a big crash in the second free practice session on Friday, then failed to progress beyond Q1 on Saturday. Starting 16^th, he ran an off-set strategy with two long stints on the hard Pirellis in the hope a safety car might be called and help lift him into contention. But that safety car never came and after switching to softs for the final few laps Sainz was retired to the pits in the closing stages.

Tsunoda gives his best for Tost

Final word in 2023 to Yuki Tsunoda, who put in a valiant effort for AlphaTauri and his retiring Team Principal Franz Tost. The Italian-based team needed a decent score to overhaul Williams for seventh in the standings, and Tsunoda gave it hope with a fine sixth on the grid as Williams duo Alex Albon and Logan Sargeant found themselves out of the reckoning. Tsunoda then ran a brave one-stop strategy, which at least allowed him to lead some laps in the middle of the grand prix – but it was always a tall order to hang on to sixth. Still, holding off Hamilton for eighth was a suitable parting gift to Tost, even if the team came up three points short of Williams in the standings.

Images courtesy of Motorsport Images.